Google is one step closer to settling EU antitrust probe

INTERNET SEARCH GIANT Google is getting ever closer to a settlement with the Euroopean Commission regarding its search and advertising antitrust probe.

According to the Wall Street Journal, European Commission antitrust chief Joaquin Almunia said on Tuesday that EU regulators had reached "a good degree of understanding between Google and the Commission".

"Hopefully in the coming days or weeks we will have the first technical meeting [to resolve the case]", he said.

A Google spokesman told The INQUIRER that it continues to work cooperatively with the European Commission, but didn't offer any details.

Google outlined a proposal earlier this month to end the EU antitrust investigation. The European investigation has looked into a number of areas but focused on whether Google has been exploiting its dominant position in search and advertising.

"I want to give the company the opportunity to offer remedy proposals that would avoid lengthy proceedings," he said in a speech. "By early July, I expect to receive from Google concrete signs of their willingness to explore this route."

Google has been under scrutiny from regulators pressured by competitors to probe whether it is using techniques to push out competing web search firms. Microsoft and its partner Yahoo both have about a quarter of the web search market in the US, while Google has around 95 per cent of internet search traffic in Europe. µ